"So how did you end up in a wheelchair?"
I'm a pretty open person. I'm happy to talk about all kinds of personal issues. Perhaps that's why I get asked about my accident so often. But there's something about this question that bothers me.
Would I be asked if I was older or much younger? Would I be asked if I had some kind of disfigurement? Why do people think it's ok to ask me how I ended up in a chair? I was even asked at the end of an interview the other day. It feels...well, unnecessary. Is my disquiet because it puts the focus on my disability rather than me? Because it emphasises my difference? I'm not sure.
I'm trying to come up with a menu of possible questions to ask in return. "When did you start to go grey?" perhaps. Or "do you think you drink too much?" I haven't come up with anything suitable yet. All my ideas sound pretty offensive. But maybe that's the point: people would get offended and I could ask them why they thought their own question was acceptable. I've not decided how strongly I feel about this. I'm not sure I'm ready to leap into these murky waters just now. But I'm dipping my toe in.
(The image is of the yachting flag "F", which, when flown alone, means "I am disabled. Please communicate with me". Perhaps I'm wearing one of these without realising).
OMG. Searching to see if there's any debate about this question and come across a guy who crowdsurfs in his chair at heavy metal festivals. It's a mad, mad world.
